Eli Craig’s directorial debut Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010), gives a witty refreshing take on a classic slasher movie situation in the form of a horror comedy. It does this by playing against our previous projective stereotypes, following two redneck friends travelling for the first time to their new log cabin. On the way there they stop at a gas station and meet a group of college juniors who are also going camping near by for the weekend. However during their meeting Tucker’s nervous disposition is misread by the anxious college students who fear the large stranger.
Straightaway the film introduces its ideas on a very simple level to the audience. Automatically we think by nature that the college students will be smart and rationally make judgements of character. However this is not the case, instead before they go to the gas station they talk about the possibility of meeting unwanted abrasive rednecks. Because of their stereotypical views of these people from news stories, campfire tales and slasher films, they have already made their minds up on what they think a redneck is. Whereas in contrast Dale is nervous approaching one of the college girls because he thinks she will judge him as an idiot hick. Yet this doesn’t stop him from approaching her, and, Tucker actually encourages his friend to persist in his plan of introducing himself. Although this is misread by the college students as Dale with scythe in hand approaches them, trying to project confidence he smiles and laughs, which only makes things seem more sinister to those looking on.
Later the confusion continues when one of the college students whilst the others are swimming in the lake falls off a high ridge. Tucker and Dale then attempt to save her from drowning. But from far away this is misread as a kidnapping by the other students. As the film progresses the group allow their imaginations to run wildly out of control, as all logic seems to leave their heads as the fear of what may be happening sets in. A series of meetings / accidental confrontations causes the ever growing paranoia to continuously exasperate to new dissipations.
Throughout the film it keeps pushing forward as everyone begins going to further and further extremes. It seems as though the more that the events are misinterpreted by the two parties, the funnier the action on screen becomes. The comedy is really relentless and yet it never seems to wane.
Instead you begin to realise the force of craft that has been put into the film. As a whole the film is amazingly well put together. For a movie that blends both horror and comedy it succeeds in both of these avenues very effectively. Defining for itself a very set balance. The actors also all give good performances, in particular Jesse Moss as the psychotic leader of the college kids stands out with his portrayal as a small oafish, yet illogically domineering head of the group. No one ever really seems to agree with him and yet they seem to follow him, as he seems to be the only one with any direction. Even with this in mind the characters retain a good level of development. Even though they come across slightly as caricatures at times, you can still see the reasoning behind their behaviour no matter how outlandish it may seem. The point here being that their behaviour is never intelligence insulting.
In essence it is meticulous in its craft. The film does use the horror archetypes of the slasher and exploitation films of the 1970s / 1980s but it never seems pigeonholed to that setup. With the movie itself being more reminiscent of the classic slapstick comedies to the likes of those by Charlie Chaplin, The Three Stooges and in particular Loral and Hardy. It is the character relationship of Tucker and Dale themselves that draws the audience in to what is happening, and in particular their reactions. This relationship and the incredible timing of some of the college kids deaths is what will most likely keep audiences coming back to the film for repeat viewings.
No comments:
Post a Comment